ANSWER TO POLL: I normally prefer to read the book first. From conversations with others and my own experience, I’ve believe that people, ordinarily, enjoy the story more through the format they experience it first, be it the movie or the book. If I’m going to invest time over several weeks to read a book vs two hours to watch a movie, I’d rather enjoy the novelty of the story while reading the book, and with the additional richness of details that only a book can provide.. Some of the more recently released books from movies, like Room and The Glass Castle, I’ve been avoiding watching until I can read the book first, but I haven’t found the time yet TO read the books, so I may just give in and watch the movies instead to at least experience the story in some form.

RECOMMENDATION 1 : A truly WONDERFUL example of a movie that sticks closely to the book is Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier, and its Alfred Hitchcock directed, Academy Award winning, counterpart. Much (most?) of the movie dialog is lifted straight off the pages of the book, and I only noticed one plot difference in the movie compared to the book. That difference is a major one, which would be a spoiler to list here, but I understand now it was necessary in order to comply with the Hollywood Production Code in effect at the time and avoid altering the plot in other, more complicated, and ultimately less satisfying ways. I highly recommend them both!!

RECOMMENDATION 2: My favorite author as a teen and young adult was Robert Cormier!! Although often dark and thematically mature, I will forever remember the sensation of closing his book, I am the Cheese, which I’d checked out of my 7th grade teacher’s class library, and thinking, “Ah… THAT is what a book can do.” Although I loved reading at the time and had devoured the first 50 books in The Baby-Sitters Club series, I’d read NOTHING up to that point that moved me like I am the Cheese. It was truly a gift, and I went on to enjoy After the First Death, We All Fall Down, and The Chocolate War, among others. Highly recommend these books for mature teens who ready for them.

For me, it depends on the maturity of the kid and the overall value of the book. When I was a kid, my step-dad let me watch my first Rated R movie (which probably would be PG-13 by today’s standards). It was The Breakfast Club. I was 16 and he thought that the message of the movie outweighed the language and some of the other negatives of the movie. I wouldn’t let my kids read a book filled with language if it had no redeeming qualities. Like you mentioned, many of the books that we consider classics and are required reading for many high school students contain objectionable language.